Warning: Parameter 2 to bateaux_core_search_page_builder() expected to be a reference, value given in /home/makigumo/public_html/wp-includes/class-wp-hook.php on line 286The week in figures: May 24, 2013 – Makigumo

The week in figures: May 24, 2013

I was on the show floor at ACen looking for figures. It’s not the type of event where a ton of new stuff debuts. Good luck finding an event like that for figures outside of Japan, anyway. Good Smile Company did show up, letting me get a look at some upcoming figures. Aside from ACen stuff, I also have a few reviews and galleries from the blogosphere. It’s been a pretty good week, I’d say.

On this blog I try to stick with the Western convention of using the given name first, surname second. But I just can’t bring myself to write “Miku Hatsune.” That’s so weird. Anyway, Hatsune Miku is all over the place and for the longest time, we’ve mostly just seen her in her standard Vocaloid design. Now we’re getting a few more variations, and I appreciate that. Deep Sea Miku (Shinkai Shoujo Miku) was announced at WonFes last year, and it was one of my most anticipated figures going into this year. Luckily, Good Smile Company brought the decoration master to ACen, so I could see this prototype in person. Despite being a 1/8-scale figure, Miku is huge because of the elaborate base and very large hair. It’s sculpted in a way to simulate floating in water. Everything about this figure is great so far, so I’m anxiously awaiting the pre-order.

One of the reasons to collect figures is to take great photos, and GSC’s Mikatan does that on a pretty regular basis. She has access to a wide array of GSC figures, especially Nendoroids, and thus has infinite potential for photos such as the one above. And it’s all made better by Mikudayo. I missed out on this pre-order, but hopefully I’ll be able to find one after release.

Tier muses on body suits and wonders why, if you can see a belly button, you can’t see nipples. The Yui figure isn’t my personal cup of tea, but she does have one thing I appreciate. Just look to Makigumo’s tagline.

I really like the Saber set, but it sucks that Sheng’s figure got scratched up during the photo shoot. It looks like she used a wide aperture with a long exposure and an LED flashlight. I love the way the bokeh and the light trails from cars create a simple and impressionistic backdrop. It’s a very creative use of the outdoors indeed.

Sheng’s other post explores the possibility of combining Nendoroid heads/expressions with Cu Poche bodies, and vice versa. The results are pretty good, though imperfect as you might expect. I don’t play around much with poseable figures nowadays (storage issues) but it’s always cool to see how creatively people can combine parts and accessories.

Scher posted the rest of her set with Momohime, and once again it’s great. After reading Pinkcheeks and Kixkillradio, I’ve started thinking about doing an outdoor shoot with one of my figures. I’m still not sure exactly what to do… hopefully I’ll have some ideas soon.

Her Shiki Ryougi review is fantastic. Scher describes Shiki as a “poker faced girl” which is pretty apt, I’d say. I love the way Scher incorporated the sky into her shots, giving Shiki a heroic look. The figure’s pose isn’t terribly exciting, but she looks epic in this photo set.

I have a few loli figures, but none that cast off. This Mirai figure from Griffon does cast off (to be precise, it comes with an alternate torso) but I’m just not into it. Dinara notes that Mirai doesn’t have the Griffon face, which is a plus. But there seems to be a general lack of detail and definition.

Quite a week for the community indeed. I’ve slowed down on my own reviews but I’ve just been too busy these days. For US-based readers, enjoy the Memorial Day weekend. I’ll be heading to Mexico! I wonder… which figure should I bring with me?